You may not recognize the name of Deniece Chandler in soul music, but you'll definitely know her by her later name of Deniece Williams and her many hits of the 70s and 80s for Columbia Records! Yet here, while still Chandler, the young singer comes across in a very different way – serving up some excellent early material from the Chicago scene – perfect for the higher-voiced style she used at the start – really wonderful tunes that also echo some of the more sophisticated ways that Chicago cooking up at the time. The set features a host of early singles that Chandler recorded for the Toddlin Town label, plus some unreleased material, and even some bonus tracks too – including two duets with Lee Sain. Titles include "Yes I'm Ready", "Love Is Tears", "I'm Walking Away", "Come On Home To Me Baby", "Goodbye Cruel World", "Mama I Wish I Stayed At Home", "Just One Time", "Glorious Feeling", "Hey Baby", "Shy Boy", and "I'm Not Like The Others". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty to be proud of here – as the album's a key part in the reinvention of Deniece Williams for the 80s – a great way of finding a new setting for her wonderful voice, one that helped her reach a huge new audience in the process! Most of the backings have an 80s approach, but still hold onto some of the deeper warmth of the 70s – and if anything, they represent kind of a "leaning up" of Williams' earlier modes – one that still gives the record a nice bottom, yet also finds a great way of focusing her amazing vocal style. George Duke handled production on half the record – and titles include "They Say", "Heaven In Your Eyes", "It's Okay", "I'm So Proud", "So Deep In Love", and "Do What You Feel". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "It's Your Conscience", "My Melody", "Silly", "What Two Can Do", "All That Matters", and "Suspicious". LP, Vinyl record album

Totally great work from Deniece Williams – still mostly free from the tinny pop of later years, and done in a solidly soulful style at Sigma Sound, with arrangements and production from the mighty Thom Bell! The groove is almost an update of 70s Philly, with traces of the maturing mellow side of Williams – all wrapped up with a good degree of confidence on the vocals, but enough tenderness to remind us of the greatness of Williams' roots. Deniece at her early 80s best! Titles include "I Believe In Miracles", "Waiting By The Hotline", "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", "Love Notes", "How Does It Feel", "Now Is The Time For Love", "Waiting" and "A Part Of Love". CD

Totally great work from Deniece Williams – still mostly free from the tinny pop of later years, and done in a solidly soulful style at Sigma Sound, with arrangements and production from the mighty Thom Bell! The groove is almost an update of 70s Philly, with traces of the maturing mellow side of Williams – all wrapped up with a good degree of confidence on the vocals, but enough tenderness to remind us of the greatness of Williams' roots. Deniece at her early 80s best! Titles include "I Believe In Miracles", "Waiting By The Hotline", "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", "Love Notes", "How Does It Feel", "Now Is The Time For Love", "Waiting" and "A Part Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from Denice Williams – a singer who'd cracked the charts a bit as Denice Chandler, with a little girl soul sound, way back in the 60s – but who's grown up considerably by this essential 70s set! Chandler's voice is still a bit high – almost in a Minnie Riperton sort of mode – and she's working with some great help from the Earth Wind & Fire camp, considering that production is by Maurice White and Charles Stepney! Like the best EWF work of the 70s, the album's polished, but has a tremendous sense of depth – feelings that are mature and massively soulful, and which are quite different than Williams later pop from the 80s. Titles include her standout classic "Free", plus "It's Important to Me", "Watching Over", "Cause You Love Me Baby", "How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away", "That's What Friends Are For", and "Slip Away". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from Denice Williams – a singer who'd cracked the charts a bit as Denice Chandler, with a little girl soul sound, way back in the 60s – but who's grown up considerably by this essential 70s set! Chandler's voice is still a bit high – almost in a Minnie Riperton sort of mode – and she's working with some great help from the Earth Wind & Fire camp, considering that production is by Maurice White and Charles Stepney! Like the best EWF work of the 70s, the album's polished, but has a tremendous sense of depth – feelings that are mature and massively soulful, and which are quite different than Williams later pop from the 80s. Titles include her standout classic "Free", plus "It's Important to Me", "Watching Over", "Cause You Love Me Baby", "That's What Friends Are For", "Free" and "Slip Away". Includes the bonus "Free (Single Version)". CD

Genius work from Denice Williams – a singer who'd cracked the charts a bit as Denice Chandler, with a little girl soul sound, way back in the 60s – but who's grown up considerably by this essential 70s set! Chandler's voice is still a bit high – almost in a Minnie Riperton sort of mode – and she's working with some great help from the Earth Wind & Fire camp, considering that production is by Maurice White and Charles Stepney! Like the best EWF work of the 70s, the album's polished, but has a tremendous sense of depth – feelings that are mature and massively soulful, and which are quite different than Williams later pop from the 80s. Titles include her standout classic "Free", plus "It's Important to Me", "Watching Over", "Cause You Love Me Baby", "How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away", "That's What Friends Are For", and "Slip Away". Includes a bonus track of the single version of "Free". CD

A seminal set in the career of Deniece Williams – a set that really helped her find the voice she'd use more strongly in the 80s, but one that still holds onto all the best strongly soul styles of her earlier work! There's a catchy bounce here that's quite compelling – but the overall quality isn't nearly as commercial as Williams' later hits – and the balance makes the record a hip batch of sophisticated soul tracks that show Deniece really growing up from her little girl sound of the Deniece Chandler years in Chicago. Production is by Ray Parker and David Foster – and titles include "Why Can't We Fall In Love", "Like Magic", "I Found Love", "Turn Around", "I've Got The Next Dance", and "Touch Me Again". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Very catchy work from Shalamar – a trio who were one of the most hit-oriented acts in the Solar Records stable – but who really hit their crossover heights on this mid 80s set! The group draw heavily on rock and pop modes for the beats and basslines of the set – making that sort of shift that Deniece Williams and some other contemporaries were hitting at the time – maybe inspired a bit by the success of Thriller, or just following their own muse in search of a way to update their sound! Titles include "Amnesia", "Dancing In The Sheets", "Don't Get Stopped In Beverly Hills", "Melody (An Erotic Affair)", "My Girl Loves Me", "Deceiver", and "Whenever You Need Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from the Four Tops, DeBarge, Peaches & Herb, Atlantic Starr, Kool & the Gang, Larry Graham, Dreamboy, Deniece Williams, Stevie Wonder, Klymaxxx and more. CD

One of the greatest soul compilation series ever! Kenny Dope put together this 3rd volume, and we might be tempted to say that it's the best one of the 3! Strange Games has a deceptively simple approach – but the compilation features the kind of grooves that will keep you coming back and back again, and which will play well with both fans of older soul and modern beat-heads alike. Nearly every track has been sampled at some point over the past 10 years – so you'll recognize many of the beats and riffs – but the tracks are also totally excellent, and hold up extremely well on their own as smooth modern soul classics. Titles include "Superman Lover" by Johnny Guitar Watson, "Standing Right Here" by Melba Moore, "Free" by Deniece Williams, "Holding You, Loving You" by Don Blackman, "Was It Something I Said" by Sylvester, "I've Been Watching You" by Parliament, "I'm Your Mechanical Man" by Jerry Butler, "I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You" by Leon Haywood, "Stars In Your Eyes" by Herbie Hancock, "Thoughts Of Old Flames" by Pleasure, "What Am I Missing?" by Rufus, and "Freddie's Dead" by MFSB. Also features a few cuts that have been on other compilations – by artists like Ramp, Labbi Siffre, Love Unlimited Orchestra, and Barry White – but they're all great anyway, and are fine to have again! CD version features 3 CDs! Disc 1 is a mixed set of tracks – and discs 2 and 3 are unmixed, and include 21 cuts between them. Packaged in a totally great slipcase, too! (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD